Ruff Stuff

"When the Tough Get Going" 12-pages of rough pencil layouts
grayscale images of blue pencil on Bristol board.

Here's an understatement, "Drawing 2-inch tall thumbnails in easier than drawing 15-inch tall pages."

I'm keeping the pencil layouts loose, trusting that the brush inking will retain a good amount of spontaneity.

Notable changes from the thumbnails start on page 5, compressing Tuff-Girl's (TG) exit from the dry-cleaners down to 2 panels, in order to insert a panel as a beat between Eagle One's (E1) action panles.

Next on page 7, the closeup of the extending baton is lost, to jump into two hits from TG, while inserting a panel of E1 pulling TG closer, drawing out the creepy moment.

Page 8: The third panel is slightly altered with E1 throwing a chair at TG's feet, and TG naturally jumping out of the way. It's a subtle action to make TG vulnerable for those two seconds. Because jumping in the air puts her in an arc - a predictable path, setting her up for the second blow (panel 4).

Page 10, panel 3: The camera angle was straightened out to contrast the "action" panels, and TG's pose more feminine to taunt E1, but now it's too airy and TG' silhouette too compact and uninteresting. Must fix before inking.

Page 11 has the late introduction of more security guards. Although I inserted some scattering people on page 6, the fight other wise happens in a fairly empty casino until the end. One of the "big" ideas for "Tuff-Girl" is not to show how tall/short TG is standing next to other people. Panel 5 seemed like a good time to break that rule. Here the security team is a wall is all but eveloping E1, with TG unable to retrive him (well, visually implying so, and being law abiding, legally so).

My character-centric tendencies have to give way to a few essential establishing shots: the first of TG riding towards the casino (page 5), and the second on page 12, panel 2 in the epilogue. Hemlocke's penthouse is an oversized version of Slue Foot Sue's Golden Horseshoe Saloon in Disneyland. The whole epilogue is comparatively heavy on dialogue. Panel 3 has only half a panel to introduce security monitors, Rip Tyler's return (with regenerating right arm), and the last chance to keep E1 involved in the conversation.


Next this summer: Inking!